US Recovery in Hands of 50+ Entrepreneurs

America's best economic recovery plan is in the hands of those aged 50 and up.
©2009 http://www.poormansurvival.com

According to a survey conducted by the Kauffman Foundation http://www.kauffman.org/
The study found that for the past 10 years, most company founders were age 52-62. This goes against the stereotype of the college drop-out entrepreneur a la Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

The survey goes on to state that we are about to enter a Boomer Business Start-Up Bonanza, where those of us over age 50 will lead the way in creating an unprecedented number of new business start-ups each year for many years to come.

You may recall in my previous bulletin and blog, I wrote about ABC news featuring a startup firm in MI, which converted auto parts workers to wind turbine fabricators. The folks in MI know many of our traditional industries are slipping away and they’re making strong attempts at rebuilding for the future…

FastTrac® LaunchPad training aimed at starting or retooling businesses in Michigan
Contact:
Brian J. Bowe, (616) 331-2221 or boweb@gvsu.edu
Jennifer Deamud, (616) 331-7482 or deamudj@gvsu.edu
(GRAND RAPIDS, MI – June 17, 2009) — In response to record unemployment rates in Michigan, the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is making FastTrac® entrepreneurship training available for those interested in starting a new business or retooling an existing business that is struggling in the current economy.

For the rest of this story, go to: http://www.kauffman.org/

A number of years ago I served on the advisory board and was a speaker at the annual Entrepreneurship Conference hosted by the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) in Cleveland, OH.

The conference was geared toward those interested in starting a business. The number of attendees averaged 90 and the majority were either women or men over the age of 45. Many successful businesses got their start at this conference and it was an excellent means of networking.

The challenge for all businesses lies in creating a unique USP, or unique selling proposition. On the whole, 80% of the products and services offered at any given time, are easily duplicated by others and setting yourself apart from the competition is difficult. It’s even more challenging today because of the internet and the global economy. Also, it’s no secret that small businesses create the majority of new jobs in this country.

I firmly believe that entrepreneurship will prove to be a major ingredient in fixing this country (other than a HUGE reduction in the size of government)!

For example, I poured a lot of thought and effort into creating my Poor Man materials and site…few others offer the same kind of clearinghouse of useful consumer resources that our site does…BUT, I’m getting reports from subscribers that others are beginning to copy my efforts (oh how we love flattery).
My personal challenge is to overcome my reluctance to capitalize on all of the social networking sites, which have sprung up recently. I’m usually a twitter over twitter and my face isn’t suitable for facebook…but like the proverbial tortoise, I’m making way down that path.

If you have a story of entrepreneurship or recession survival tips to share, let me know!

I do plan to begin a series of interviews with everyday folks to learn how they’re coping with or beating the recession, starting a business, or other resources they might share.

Yours for better living,
Bruce ‘the PoorMan’

bedavid@yahoo.com